Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Mt. Whitney permit for Sept 4

I need hiking partners for Mt. Whitney. My entry date is Sept 4 2013. It is an overnight permit. It will be my first time up the Mt. so someone with experience would be nice. Females or couples preferred.

Welcome, Lindy,

You may not get any replies or takers for hiking partners, but you will not be alone on the trail. The quota for backpackers is 60, and there will be at least 50 going up when you go.

September is a nice time to go -- weather is usually perfect, no mosquitoes.

Steve's not kidding.

I was like you, a Mt Whitney newbie, for my first ascent last year. At first, I thought that it was gonna be a spooky (twas a new moon) midnight start the day of my ascent, all by my lonesome. But I was wrong.

In fact, there was quite a bunch of folks going up...and coming down too. You won't be alone.

Have fun. Be safe.

Fear not, Lindy -- plenty of people on the trail. Half the fun is socializing with them all.

(I did the hike as a single hiker in 2004.)

Guys you forgot, the 25 Trail Crest permitted, JMT and Trans-Sierra backpackers.

Whenever you go solo on the MMWT during this part of the quota season, you are not alone, you just do not have a partner

Thanks to all for the encouragement. I was hoping to share some of the weight with someone. I'm a small person and can't carry too much weight.

How much is too much? You won't need much for one overnight, and with a little planning*, I'll bet you can do it on whatever you can carry yourself. Last time I went overnight, I carried well under 20 lbs, and that was in the days before cuben fiber

*Not to mention advice from Steve C., our resident ultralighter, who goes for many days on maybe 25 lbs.

My first time backpacking to Mt. Whitney I carried over 50 lbs. on my then 160 pound frame for 42 miles. That caused me to spend a lot of money to drop 20 odd pounds from my pack weight.

The way I look at the MMWT backpack trip is...

You have all day to haul all that gear and clothing 6-miles, +3,600'. If you get tired, stop and rest, stop and rest a second or third time, after all you have all day. The second day is a 10-mile day hike with about 15 pound pack, half of which is water and containers. Going down your pack will be 2 days worth of food lighter...the last six miles are easy.

I am not what you call an ultralight backpacker because I like my creature comforts on the trail but I don't carry a cast iron skillet or a hard bear resistant canister either.

Another option would be to do the hike in one day. For me, I would rather do one long day instead two (or more) days schlepping a tent, sleeping bag, ground cloth, food, cooking paraphernalia, etc... Doing it in one day is a challenge, but so is schlepping all the stuff up the hill. I think you can get by with less than 10 pounds if you go for one day. You only need to carry one liter of water up to the switchbacks. There are many places to refill your water container up to the switchbacks. I use a UV device to treat the water, but many on this board drink directly from the source (check elsewhere on this board for the best places to refill). That way you do not need to carry much water until you get to the switchbacks, and by then you have lightened your load a bit (food). From the switchbacks you typically need three liters (5.5 lbs) to get to the top and back, where you will only need to carry one liter (again, refilling as needed along the way). So, total weight should be less than 10 lbs.
As other have mentioned, do not be worried about being alone. Odds are you will meet several new hiking buddies along the way.

Yea, fear not being alone! In some bad weather post a storm last November in new snow, in brutal winds and sub zero temperatures, I still saw about 10 people on the day. Labor Day weekend you will have a lot of company. My brother-inlaw and I might be there then also!

September is a great time to Mt. Whitney but weather is always an issue here.

I have backpacked up Piute Pass in a snowstorm on a Labor Day weekend and have seen unseasonably warm temperatures in October/November. It just depends on Mother Nature.

Thank you all again for great info. I think I'll shoot for keeping the weight down under 20 lbs. If weather is good, I was thinking of leaving the tent behind. Is that a good idea?

I have been out too many times in the Sierra where the forecast called for no rain for the entire trip and having been rain on to recommend you not take a tent.

I take an Ursack rather than bear resistant canister so that I could take a tent and keep the weight down.